BMKG Straightens the Issue of Weather Modification Can Cause Disaster

JAKARTA - The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) has clarified the issue that says weather modification operations (OMC) are dangerous and trigger extreme weather disturbances.

BMKG emphasized that the accusation was not based on scientific grounds. OMC is actually an effort to mitigate the risk of hydrometeorological disasters, such as floods due to extreme rain.

The issue on social media previously said that OMC could trigger unstable weather, cold pool phenomena, and potentially cause disasters in the future. However, BMKG ensured that the claim was wrong.

"OMC is carried out as an aid to mitigate the risk of disasters, not as a cause of weather disturbances," said BMKG in an official statement, Tuesday, February 3.

BMKG explained that weather modification is applied when two conditions occur simultaneously, namely the environment's absorption of water is increasingly limited and the frequency of extreme rain due to climate change increases.

In this situation, OMC aims to control the intensity of rain so that it is not concentrated in one flood-prone area.

Regarding the **cold pool** phenomenon that has been widely discussed, BMKG emphasizes that the event is purely a natural meteorological process. Cold pools are formed when heavy rain evaporates under the storm clouds so that the air cools, then the cold air descends and spreads on the surface.

"This phenomenon will continue to occur in heavy rain, with or without weather modification," explained BMKG.

BMKG also denied the assumption that OMC moved the rain to other areas. In practice, cloud seeding is carried out before the clouds reach the land so that the rain falls in the sea or safer areas. If the clouds develop on land, seeding is carried out earlier to reduce their intensity.

This means that the rain is not moved, but is regulated so that the impact is more controlled.

Furthermore, BMKG emphasized that the root of the flood problem was not in the OMC, but in the decline in the carrying capacity of the environment. The reduction of the situation, swamp, and water absorption areas in the Jabodetabek area makes it difficult for rainwater to be contained, thus increasing the risk of flooding.

Therefore, weather modification is only a supporting nature.

"Environmental arrangement remains the main solution. OMC helps minimize risks, not create bad weather," said BMKG.

With this explanation, BMKG appeals to the public not to easily believe in misleading information and to continue to refer to official sources and scientific explanations.